I was looking for advice on what's going on with my 94 Ranger. I read the thread about the camshaft and engine seizing because oil wasn't getting to it. I don't know much about this stuff so I can't really tell if what was being described in that thread is like what I'm worried about.

I'm wondering where the Pressure Guage needle is SUPPOSE to be? It's a pretty large area that's marked "Normal" and I can't remember if the needle use to sit in the center or not but I noticed a week ago that it is sitting close to the LOW side of where the "Normal" range ends - I mean it is about 1/4 of an inch from the end of the normal range (sometimes a little less than 1/4").

It doesn't seem to be burning or leaking oil but it kind of gets a faint burning oil smell (or some kind of faint heat smell) after I turn the engine off. I had the oil changed 2 months ago and it hasn't used any.

When I first got the truck a few months ago we thought there was a problem with the rear end but a mechanic discovered it was the HANGER BEARING (but I don't know what that is so I don't know if that has anything to do with the camshaft or not). The mechanic replaced the hanger bearing with one that works OK but it's not actually the exact part it should be (which would have cost a lot more) so it causes a fairly strong vibration when going between 35 and 45 mph, althoug the vibration was lessened a lot when I put 280 pounds of bagged sand over the rear axel for traction, for the winter. Hoping someone will tell me not to worry about the camshaft- that the problem is less serious. And if so, any guesses why the guage runs low and I get the faint smell of burning oil (or overheated something). Thanks!